Day 5: On Guard
Qrow had gotten pretty good at moving stealthily over the years but he tried harder to be as quiet as possible as he snuck though the hospital hall.
He arrived at Winter's room and opened the door a few inches to peek in, now before you make any assumptions, he was just checking on her and the baby, not doing anything perverted.
Winter was in her bed above the covers, even asleep she still looked exhausted.
He could see the edge of Jay's crib but not the boy himself. Qrow poked his head in a little bit for a better viewpoint and saw Jay, the boy was awake and squirming a little, tiny fists clenched unhappily.
Since there was a pacifier next to his head, Qrow guessed that he had accidently spat out his pacifier and wanted it back.
Very, very carefully, knowing he could end up with a screaming baby and/or a sword in his face if he made a wrong move, Qrow tiptoed into the room.
Jay blinked up at him with big, Schnee blue eyes, surprised then happy about the visitor. He smiled and reached up, making a 'buh' sound.
'You were just kidnapped; you should be more on guard.'
It took Qrow a beat to realise that he was smiling back; the kid had inherited his mother's bad judge of character.
He picked up the pacifier and pressed it against the corner of the boy's mouth; he latched on eagerly and resumed sucking on it.
Before Qrow could pull his hand away, Jay grabbed his father's pinky and held on tight, as if he knew Qrow would leave when he let go.
Taking his hand back would upset the kid, maybe cause him to cry, so Qrow let him hold on and tried not to be proud of how strong the grip was.
But, hard as he tried, Jay couldn't keep his eyes open, being kidnapped was exhausting. A few minutes later his hand went limp and Qrow was free to go.
But first, he pulled the blanket over Jay's chest and moved the toys within reach.
Alright, time to go.
He brushed some dark hair away from Jay's face with his thumb; apparently the kid had inherited his unruly hair.
In fact, the boy seemed to have inherited a lot from Qrow, there wasn't much Winter in him, apart from the eyes.
Qrow smirked as he imagined a mini-him with Winter's demeanour running around, telling the other kids the proper way to eat a cookie. If Jay had his charisma he could take over the world.
He glanced over to check on Winter, catching sight of the clock beside her bed and realised that he had been staring at the kid for more than twenty minutes.
It was a matter of time until security discovered him, and the other kids would be wondering where he was. He should be leaving.
He had to leave.
Winter cracked an eye open when she heard his footsteps get quieter; making sure Qrow was gone before opening both.
She'd been awake when he broke in, her hand going to the gun under her pillow before she realised who it was and then considered shooting him anyway, but it would have upset Jay.
Whatever Qrow decided to do about his son, she just wished he would decide.
The worst part was that she knew he could be a good father, if he wanted to be.
Their relationship was loving, but sporadic, only happening when they managed to be in the same place in the same time, and she didn't want that for Jay. If Qrow had to leave she wanted him to make time for their son, so Jay would feel like he mattered.
She wanted Jay to feel like she never had.
As she tried to sleep she wondered if a bad father was better than no father at all.